Handy mop

ABSTRACT

It is an object of the invention to provide a hand-held mop in which a grip connected to a mounting part for mounting and supporting a mop body is prevented from being detached from the mounting part during cleaning operation. 
     A hand-held mop  1  includes a mop body  2,  a mounting part  10,  and a grip  20.  The mop body  2  has a pair of mop body portions  2   a,  and the mounting part  10  has a pair of mounting pieces  11  which are inserted into mounting spaces of the mop body portions  2   a,  and an insert  15.  The grip  20  has a holding side  22  which defines an insert space  22   a  into which the insert  15  of the mounting part  10  is inserted. Further, a side opening  23  is formed in the holding side  22  of the grip  20,  and a side projection  19  is formed on the insert  15  of the mounting part  10  and engaged in the side opening  23.  A spring region  24  is formed in the holding side  22  of the grip  20,  and when the insert  15  is inserted into the insert space  22   a,  the spring region  24  is pressed by the side projection  19  of the insert  15  and bent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a hand-held mop which has a mop body and a gripand is used for cleaning inside or outside of a room or a vehicle, andmore particularly to a hand-held mop in which the grip is prevented frombecoming detached from a mounting part for mounting the mop body duringcleaning operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Japanese non-examined laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-167425discloses a hand-held mop with a disposable mop body, a mounting partconnected to the mop body to support the mop body and a grip connectedto the mounting part. The known hand-held mop is used for a finecleaning operation by inserting it into a relatively complicated andnarrow structure inside a room or a vehicle

In order to insert the hand-held mop into a relatively complicated andnarrow structure and smoothly perform a cleaning operation by lightlypressing the mop body against an object to be cleaned, the mounting partneeds to bend when pressed by the user. Therefore, the mounting part forsupporting the mop body must be made of a relatively soft material.

On the other hand, the grip connected to the mounting part needs to besecurely held by the user, so that it is made of a relatively hardsynthetic resin such as PP (polypropylene).

In a construction in which the soft mounting part and the hard grip areconnected to each other, however, the soft mounting part and the hardgrip may easily become disconnected from each other at the connection,which will interfere with the cleaning operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a hand-held mopin which a hard grip connected to a soft mounting part for mounting themop body is prevented from becoming detached from the mounting part,during cleaning operation.

The invention provides a hand-held mop including a mop body, a mountingpart and a grip. The mop body includes a mop body portion having amounting space. The mounting part has a mounting piece which is insertedinto the mounting space of the mop body portion, and an insert. The griphas a holding side which defines an insert space into which the insertof the mounting part is inserted, and the grip has a higher hardnessthan the mounting part. Further, a side opening is formed in the holdingside of the grip, and a side projection is formed on the insert of themounting part and engaged in the side opening of the grip. A springregion is formed in the holding side of the grip, and when the insert isinserted into the insert space, the spring region is pressed by the sideprojection of the insert and bent. The spring region is provided as anexample of an elastic region to exert biasing force. For example, a leafspring member can be utilized.

In the hand-held mop according to the invention, the mounting part andthe grip are long and narrow, and the side opening formed in the holdingside of the grip extends in a width direction of the grip, so that thespring region is formed between the side opening and a front end of theholding side in the holding side.

As one aspect of the invention, the width of the insert of the mountingpart is shorter than the width of the insert space of the grip, and whenthe spring region is pressed by the side projection of the insert, thespring region can freely bend in its width direction withoutinterference of the insert. Further, a contact projection is formed on aside of a front end of the insert of the mounting part and comes incontact with an inner wall of the insert space of the grip.

As one aspect of the invention, a proximal end projection is formed on aproximal end of the insert of the mounting part, and a positioningopening is formed in the insert space of the grip and receives theproximal end projection.

As one aspect of the invention, the grip is made of polypropylene (PP).

As one aspect of the invention, the spring region of the grip has ashorter extent in its longitudinal direction than in its widthdirection.

As one aspect of the invention, an engagement protruding piece is formedon each of the mounting pieces of the mounting part and extends outwardand is engaged in the mounting space of the mop body portion.

As described above, according to the invention, during cleaningoperation using a hand-held mop, a soft grip is prevented from becomingdetached from a hard mounting part for mounting and supporting a mopbody.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood after reading the following detailed description togetherwith the accompanying drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an entire hand-held mop according to theinvention.

FIG. 2( a) is an exploded plan view of a mounting part and a grip, andFIG. 2( b) is an enlarged view of a proximal end of the mounting part.

FIG. 3 is an exploded back view of the mounting part and the grip.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the mounting part.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the grip.

FIG. 6( a) is an enlarged view of a front end portion of the grip, andFIG. 6( b) is a view taken from a direction of arrow B in FIG. 6( a).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Each of the additional features and method steps disclosed above andbelow may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other featuresand method steps to provide and manufacture improved hand-held mops andmethod for using such hand-held mops and devices utilized therein.Representative examples of the invention, which examples utilized manyof these additional features and method steps in conjunction, will nowbe described in detail with reference to the drawings. This detaileddescription is merely intended to teach a person skilled in the artfurther details for practicing preferred aspects of the presentteachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Onlythe claims define the scope of the claimed invention. Therefore,combinations of features and steps disclosed within the followingdetailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention inthe broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularlydescribe some representative examples of the invention, which detaileddescription will now be given with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show a hand-held mop according to the embodiment of theinvention.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2(a) and 2(b), a hand-held mop 1 includes a mopbody 2, an elongate mounting part 10 and an elongate grip 20. The mopbody 2 includes a pair of mop body portions 2 a each having a mountingspace 3. The mounting part 10 is made of a soft synthetic resin materialsuch as elastomer. The mounting part 10 includes a pair of mountingpieces 11 which are formed on its front end side and inserted into themounting spaces 3 of the mop body portions 2 a, and an insert 15 formedon its proximal end. The grip 20 is made of a harder synthetic resinmaterial than the material of the mounting part 10, such as PP(polypropylene), and includes a holding side 22 and a grip body 21. Theholding side 22 is formed on the front end of the grip 20 and defines aninsert space 22 a into which the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 isinserted.

In this case, in order to realize a smooth cleaning operation by lightlypressing the mop body 10 against an object to be cleaned, the mountingpart 10 is made of a soft material which can bend when pressed by theuser.

On the other hand, the grip 20 needs to be securely held by the user, sothat it is made of a hard material.

The mop body 1 includes the pair of mop body portions 2 a as describedabove, and each of the mop body portions 2 a is formed by bondingnonwoven fabric sheets 4 together. The mounting space 3 is formedbetween the bonded nonwoven fabric sheets 4.

Further, each of the mop body portions 2 a has a mop part 5 formed onthe front and back sides of the nonwoven fabric sheets 4 and formed offine nonwoven fabric having a cleaning function. Cleaning is performedby the mop part 5.

The nonwoven fabric sheets 4 of the mop body portions 2 a are bondedtogether on the proximal end of the mop body portions 2 a. The nonwovenfabric sheets 4 are not bonded on the front end side of the mop bodyportions 2 a and a cleaning space 7 is formed between the mop bodyportions 2 a. The mop parts 5 of the mop body portions 2 a are used toclean a structure inside a room or a vehicle. Further, by inserting thestructure into the cleaning space 7, the structure can be reliablycleaned even if it is small.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2(a) , 2(b), 3, 4, 5, 6(a) and 6(b), the mountingpart 10 includes the pair of mounting pieces 11 which are inserted intothe mounting spaces 3 of the mop body portions 2 a, and the insert 15connected to the mounting pieces 11. The mounting pieces 11 are situatedon the front end side of the mounting part 10, and the insert 15 issituated on the proximal end side. The mounting part 10 is formed ofsoft elastomer as a whole so that the mounting part 10 can hold the mopbody 2 and deform the mop body 2 such that the mop body 2 conforms tothe contour of the structure to be cleaned. Particularly, the mountingpieces 11 of the mounting part 10 have flexibility so that the mop body2 can deform in such a manner as to conform to the contour of thestructure. As the soft elastomer forming the mounting part 10, olefinicthermoplastic elastomer is used. Specifically, Zelas (registeredtrademark) of Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd. can be used as the olefinicthermoplastic elastomer.

A semicircular plate-like engagement protruding piece 12 is formed oneach of the mounting pieces 11 and protrudes outward so that it engageswith the mounting space 3 of the mop body portion 2 a.

The insert 15 formed on the proximal end of the mounting part 10 isinserted into an insert space 22 a of the grip 20, so that the mountingpart 10 is securely connected to the grip 20, which will be describedbelow. A guide piece 16 is formed on one side of the insert 15 of themounting part 10 and serves to guide the insert 15 in sliding contactwith a side edge 25 a of a cover 25 of the grip 20 when the insert 15 isinserted into the insert space 22 a of the grip 20. The top of the guidepiece 16 is substantially flush with the top of the mounting pieces.

The insert space 22 a is formed on the front end of the grip 20 and theinsert 15 of the mounting part 10 is inserted into the insert space 22 aas described above. The insert space 22 a is defined by a holding side22 for holding the insert 15 and a pair of bent covers 25 formed on theboth side edges of the holding side 22 (FIG. 6 (a)(b)).

As shown in FIG. 3, a side opening 23 is formed in the holding side 22of the grip 20, and a side projection 19 is formed on the insert 15 ofthe mounting part 10 and engages with the side opening 23 of the grip20. In this case, the side opening 23 formed in the holding side 22 ofthe grip 20 extends along a width direction L₂ of the grip 20, and aspring region 24 is formed between the side opening 23 and a front end22 b of the holding side 22 in the holding side 22.

The grip 20 is a part to be held by a user when the user uses thehand-held mop 1 and formed of a harder material (polypropylene) than themounting part 10. By provision of the spring region 24 between the sideopening 23 and the front end 22 b in the holding side 22, when theinsert 15 of the mounting part 10 is inserted into the insert space 22 aof the grip 20, the side projection 19 of the insert 15 comes in contactwith an inner wall of the spring region 24 so that the spring region 24can bend along the width direction L₂ of the grip 20.

In this case, the spring region 24 of the holding side 22 has an extentextending from the side opening 23 to the front end 22 b in alongitudinal direction L₁ and has an extent l₂ in the width direction L₂corresponding to the width of the side opening 23. The extent of thespring region 24 in the longitudinal direction L₁ is shorter than theextent l₂ in the width direction L₂ such that the spring region 24 canreliably bend along the width direction L₂.

Further, a width L₃ of the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is shorterthan a width L₄ of the insert space 22 a of the grip 20 (FIGS. 3, 6(a)and 6(b)). When the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is inserted intothe insert space 22 a of the grip 20, the side projection 19 of theinsert 15 comes in contact with the inner wall of the spring region 24.At this time, when the spring region 24 bends along the width directionL₂, the insert 15 does not interfere with bending of the spring region24 because the width L₃ of the insert 15 is shorter than the width L₄ ofthe insert space 22 a.

With such a construction that, when the insert 15 of the mounting part10 is inserted into the insert space 22 a of the grip 20, the sideprojection 19 of the insert 15 comes in contact with the inner wall ofthe spring region 24 and the spring region 24 bends along the widthdirection L₂, the protruding height of the side projection 19 of theinsert 15 can be increased to the greatest extent practicable (forexample, 0.1 to 1.0 mm higher than a conventional product). Therefore,the side projection 19 of the insert 15 can be securely engaged in theside opening 23 of the grip 20.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b), a pair of contact projections17 are formed on the both sides of the front end of the insert 15 of themounting part 10 and come in contact with the inner wall of the insertspace 22 a of the grip 20. Specifically, as described above, the widthL₃ of the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is shorter than the width L₄of the insert space 22 a of the grip 20, so that a clearance is createdbetween the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 and the insert space 22 aof the grip 20 when the insert 15 is inserted into the insert space 22a. However, when the insert 15 is completely inserted into the insertspace 22 a, the contact projections 17 come in contact with the innerwall of the insert space 22 a of the grip 20. Therefore, the insert 15can be securely mounted into the insert space 22 a, so that the mountingpart 10 and the grip 20 can be securely connected to each other.

Further, a proximal end projection 18 is formed on the proximal end ofthe insert 15 of the mounting part 10, and a positioning opening 26 isformed in the insert space 22 a of the grip 20 and receives the proximalend projection 18 and particularly serves to position it in the widthdirection L₂.

Operation of this embodiment having the above-described construction isnow explained.

First, the mounting part 10 and the grip 20 are connected to each other.In this case, the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is inserted into theinsert space 22 a of the grip 20. At this time, the side projection 19of the insert 15 which protrudes to the greatest extent practicablecomes in contact with the inner wall of the spring region 24 on theholding side 22 of the grip 20. The spring region 24, having the extentl₂ in the width direction L₂ which is longer than the extent in thelongitudinal direction L₁, can smoothly bend along the width directionL₂ when the side projection 19 of the insert 15 comes in contact withthe inner wall of the spring region 24. Further, the insert 15, havingthe width L₃ shorter than the width L₄ of the insert space 22 a, doesnot interfere with bending of the spring region 24.

Connection between the mounting part 10 and the grip 20 is now furtherexplained. The relatively large side opening 23 is formed in the holdingside 22 of the grip 20 and extends along the width direction L₂ of thegrip 20, and the side opening 23 defines the spring region 24 betweenthe side opening 23 and the front end 22 b of the holding side 22 in theholding side 22. In this case, the side opening 23 largely extends alongthe width direction L₂, so that the spring region 24 has the extent l₂in the width direction L₂ which is longer than the extent in thelongitudinal direction L₁. Therefore, the spring region 24 can easilydeform in the width direction L₂.

Further, as described above, the width L₃ of the insert 15 is shorterthan the width L₄ of the insert space 22 a. Therefore, when insertingthe insert 15 of the mounting part 10 into the insert space 22 a of thegrip 20, first, the side projection 19 (protruding to a greater extentthan a conventional product) of the insert 15 comes into contact withthe spring region 24 of the holding side 22 and presses it. At thistime, the spring region 24 bends along the width direction L₂, so thatthe width L₄ of the insert space 22 a is shortened. Even if the springregion 24 bends, however, the insert 15 does not interfere with bendingof the spring region 24 because the width L₃ of the insert 15 is shorterthan the width L₄ of the insert space 22 a. With such a constructionthat the width L₃ of the insert 15 is shorter than the width L₄ of theinsert space 22 a and the insert 15 does not interfere with bending ofthe spring region 24, the insert 15 can be smoothly inserted into theinsert space 22 a.

When the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is completely inserted intothe insert space 22 a of the grip 20, the contact projections 17 of theinsert 15 come in contact with the inner wall of the insert space 22 a.Therefore, the insert 15 can be reliably mounted into the insert space22 a, so that the mounting part 10 and the grip 20 can be securelyconnected to each other. At the same time, the proximal end projection18 of the insert 15 is inserted into the positioning opening 26 of theinsert space 22 a and positions the insert 15 in the width direction L₂.

When the insert 15 of the mounting part 10 is completely inserted intothe insert space 22 a of the grip 20, the side projection 19 of theinsert 15 is engaged in the side opening 23 of the grip 20. In thiscase, the side projection 19 of the insert 15 does not easily becomedetached from the side opening 23 because the side projection 19protrudes to a greater extent than a conventional product. Further, asdescribed above, by provision of the contact projections 17 of theinsert 15 which come in contact with the inner wall of the insert space22 a, the insert 15 does not rattle within the insert space 22 a alongthe width direction L₂. Further, the proximal end projection 18 of theinsert 15 is inserted into the positioning opening 26 of the insertspace 22 a, so that the insert 15 can be properly positioned in thewidth direction L₂ within the insert space 22 a as described above.

Next, the mounting pieces 11 of the mounting part 10 are inserted intothe associated mounting spaces 3 formed in the mop body portions 2 a, 2b of the mop body 2, so that the mop body 2 is connected to the mountingpart 10. In this manner, the hand-held mop 1 can be obtained.

In use of the hand-held mop 1, the grip body 21 of the grip 20 is heldby the user and a cleaning operation is performed on a structure insidea room or a vehicle with the mop body 2 held in contact with thestructure.

Each of the mop body portions 2 a of the mop body 2 has the mop part 5formed on its front and back sides, so that the structure to be cleanedcan be easily and reliably cleaned.

In the case of a narrow or thin structure, the structure can be reliablycleaned by inserting it into the cleaning space 7 of the mop body 2.

As described above, the side projection 19 of the insert 15 can beconfigured to protrude from the insert 15 to a greater extent, forexample, 0.1 to 1.0 mm higher than a conventional product. Therefore,even if a great force is applied from the grip 20 to the mounting part10 during cleaning operation using the hand-held mop 1, the sideprojection 19 of the insert 15 does not become detached from the sideopening 23 of the holding side 22. Thus, the insert 15 of the mountingpart 10 can be reliably mounted into the insert space 22 a of the grip20, so that the hard grip 20 does not become detached from the softmounting part 10.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the insert 15 isinserted into the insert space 22 a in order to connect the grip 20 tothe mounting part 10, the side projection 19 of the insert 15 comes incontact with the inner wall of the spring region 24 of the grip 20. Inthis case, the spring region 24 bends along the width direction L₂, sothat the insert 15 can be smoothly inserted into the insert space 22 a.At the same time, the side projection 19 can be engaged in the sideopening 23, so that the insert 15 can be securely held within the insertspace 22 a. Therefore, even if the user holds the grip 20 and applies agreat force from the grip 20 to the mounting part 10 during cleaningoperation using the hand-held mop 1, the hard grip 20 does not becomedetached from the soft mounting part 10.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mop body 2 is describedas having a pair of the mop body portions 2 a, but it may have only onemop body portion 2 a.

Further, a pair of the contact projections 17 are described as beingformed on the both sides of the insert 15, but a contact projection 17which comes in contact with the inner wall of the insert space 22 a maybe formed only on one side of the insert 15.

DESCRIPTION OF NUMERALS

1 hand-held mop

2 mop body

2 a, 2 b mop body portion

3 mounting space

10 mounting part

11 mounting piece

12 engagement protruding piece

15 insert

16 guide piece

17 contact projection

18 proximal end projection

19 side projection

20 grip

21 grip body

22 holding side

22 a insert space

23 side opening

24 spring region

25 cover

26 positioning opening

1. A hand-held mop comprising: a mop body including a mop body portionhaving a mounting space, a mounting part having an mounting piece and aninsert, the mounting piece being inserted into the mounting space of themop body portion and a grip having a holding side which defines aninsert space into which the insert of the mounting part is inserted, thegrip having a higher hardness than the mounting part, wherein: a sideopening is formed in the holding side of the grip, a side projection isformed on the insert of the mounting part and engaged in the sideopening of the grip, and a spring region is formed in the holding sideof the grip, and when the insert is inserted into the insert space, thespring region is pressed by the side projection of the insert and bent.2. The hand-held mop as defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting partand the grip are long and narrow, and the side opening formed in theholding side of the grip extends in a width direction of the grip sothat the spring region is formed between the side opening and a frontend of the holding side in the holding side.
 3. The hand-held mop asdefined in claim 2, wherein the width of the insert of the mounting partis shorter than the width of the insert space of the grip, and when thespring region is pressed by the side projection of the insert, thespring region can freely bend in its width direction withoutinterference of the insert, and wherein a contact projection is formedon a side of a front end of the insert of the mounting part and comes incontact with an inner wall of the insert space of the grip.
 4. Thehand-held mop as defined in any one of claim 1, wherein a proximal endprojection is formed on a proximal end of the insert of the mountingpart, and a positioning opening is formed in the insert space of thegrip and receives the proximal end projection.
 5. The hand-held mop asdefined in any one of claim 1, wherein the grip is made ofpolypropylene.
 6. The hand-held mop as defined in any one of claim 1,wherein the spring region of the grip has a shorter extent in itslongitudinal direction than in its width direction.
 7. The hand-held mopas defined in any one of claim 1, wherein an engagement protruding pieceis formed on each of the mounting pieces of the mounting part andextends outward and is engaged in the mounting space of the mop bodyportion.